“Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of
boundaries?” 

                                                                           – Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart’s story is an inspiration to millions of girls around the world. This International Women’s Day, let us celebrate her tale of bravery and be motivated to take up similiar courageous endeavours.

Amelia Mary Earhart was born on the 24th of July 1897. Growing up, Amelia was an energetic and spirited child who enjoyed exploring the world around her. She could always be found climbing trees and she loved to hunt rats with a rifle. She once built a model of a roller coaster she had seen on a trip to St. Louis and when she mounted the home-made contraption, came out with an injured lip. It was from that moment on that she was hooked, and said that it had been “just like flying!”

Amelia Earhart is one of the most famous names in American history because of her daring exploits as a pilot and groundbreaking work tearing down barriers against the progression of women, but also because of the continuing mystery surrounding her disappearance.

She was the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by airplane (1928), the second person and first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic (1932), the first person to fly solo across the Pacific between California and Hawaii (1935), and the first woman to compete in the National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio (1935).

Amelia did what no other woman (and few men) dared to do. She was an American hero. Her daring spirit of adventure and courage inspired many. She didn’t hold back. She pursued her dreams and sought to break boundaries that others viewed as limiting human potential.

Amelia hoped that her high-profile success would inspire other young women to live up to their full potential. She had hoped that her example of courage, intelligence, and self-reliance would help topple negative stereotypes about women and open new doors for women in every field.

It has been said that Amelia was a woman of three centuries: born in the 19th, pioneered in the 20th, with ideals and dreams relevant today in the 21st.

In an interview in 2012, Eric Gillespie, the Director of International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, said: “We’ll do our best to find Amelia. During the painful recovery from the Great Depression, Amelia Earhart inspired America with her courage and determination. America needs Amelia again.”

In 1935, Amelia was appointed consultant in the Department for the Study of Careers for Women at Purdue University.

In 2009 Kevin Rader wrote on WTHR.com: “Flying certainly attracted Earhart to Purdue but she also took her job to help woman prepare for careers very seriously. She handed out a survey and found 92% of the woman on campus wanted a career. Her job was to help their dreams take flight…Her statue on the campus calls her an inspirer of dreams, mentor and aviator.”

Amelia Earhart’s story remains truly inspiring for all generations. Her vision has encouraged many to not just dream, but to take risks and act on their dreams no matter what the cost.

Greek philosopher Socrates said:

“Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.”

Amelia showed us that A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the study of so vast a subject.

Amelia Earhart is a hero to many people, including me. I want people to know what she has done. She was selfless, generous, peaceful, courageous, and compassionate. She solved problems that needed to be solved, and most importantly, she is a hero that anyone can look up to.

Today, anyone can do anything they want (if it is legal), and there are now more freedoms for women, and more rights. We have the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to be leaders, to go to school, and everything else that women couldn’t do before Amelia showed people that they could make their dreams come true. Of course, Amelia isn’t the only female hero that made all our rights possible, but she was definitely one who made a difference.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” – Leonardo da Vinci